Surjeet will be remembered for countering BJP at the height of its saffron surge
On March 23, 1932, the Governor of Punjab was scheduled to
visit Hoshiarpur in Punjab. It was also the first anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh. The District Congress Committee had decided to replace the Union Jack with the Tricolour at the district courts on the same day. In anticipation, the district administration announced that protestors would be shot. Under duress, the Hoshiarpur Congress Committee backtracked. A boy celebrating his 16th birthday that day had other ideas. He picked up a tricolour mounted on a small stick, dismissed the Congress office secretary’s warning and reached the district court, where a complacent security personnel had become careless. With a single-mindedness - that was to later become his hall mark - a young Harkishan Singh Surjeet climbed the court stairs, brought down the Union Jack and hoisted the tricolour. Though two shots were aimed & fired at him, both missed their mark.
After 60 highly eventful political years, the boy matured into becoming General Secretary of the CPM in 1992, and held that post for the next 13 years, a period marked by the emergence of coalition politics. From then to now, the inveterate agitator for working class rights has struggled: from the unions to a current battle for life at the Metro Hospital in Noida.
Surjeet was elected to the Politbureau of the undivided CPI at the Third Party Congress in January 1954. The CPI spilt into CPI and CPI (M) in 1964 and to quote General Secretary, Prakash Karat, Surjeet was one of the ‘navratnas’ who founded the CPI (M). Among the ‘navratnas’, only Surjeet and Jyoti Basu are around.
When Surjeet became General Secretary, India had already entered the era of coalition politics. The great polarisation and emergence of regional political parties enhanced CPM’s position at an all India level. It is no surprise, as General Secretary of CPM, Surjeet became the most important architect of coalition politics at the Centre.
Stepping into the rather large shoes of CPM’s greatest ideologue, EMS Namboodiripad, Surjeet more than others in the Left, has the ability to get along well with bourgeois politicians. Little wonder, he is hailed as the most pragmatic and flexible leader in the CPM, a party marked by the presence of dour conservatives.
Surjeet, despite requests, has been denied a superannuation by the CPM. The party web-site last week noted that “owing to his political activities he was jailed several times and had to spend 10 years in prison – eight years during British regime and two under the Congress rule after country became independent.” Most importantly though, he will be remembered as someone who played a decisive role in keeping the BJP at bay.
On March 23, 1932, the Governor of Punjab was scheduled to
visit Hoshiarpur in Punjab. It was also the first anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh. The District Congress Committee had decided to replace the Union Jack with the Tricolour at the district courts on the same day. In anticipation, the district administration announced that protestors would be shot. Under duress, the Hoshiarpur Congress Committee backtracked. A boy celebrating his 16th birthday that day had other ideas. He picked up a tricolour mounted on a small stick, dismissed the Congress office secretary’s warning and reached the district court, where a complacent security personnel had become careless. With a single-mindedness - that was to later become his hall mark - a young Harkishan Singh Surjeet climbed the court stairs, brought down the Union Jack and hoisted the tricolour. Though two shots were aimed & fired at him, both missed their mark.After 60 highly eventful political years, the boy matured into becoming General Secretary of the CPM in 1992, and held that post for the next 13 years, a period marked by the emergence of coalition politics. From then to now, the inveterate agitator for working class rights has struggled: from the unions to a current battle for life at the Metro Hospital in Noida.
Surjeet was elected to the Politbureau of the undivided CPI at the Third Party Congress in January 1954. The CPI spilt into CPI and CPI (M) in 1964 and to quote General Secretary, Prakash Karat, Surjeet was one of the ‘navratnas’ who founded the CPI (M). Among the ‘navratnas’, only Surjeet and Jyoti Basu are around.
When Surjeet became General Secretary, India had already entered the era of coalition politics. The great polarisation and emergence of regional political parties enhanced CPM’s position at an all India level. It is no surprise, as General Secretary of CPM, Surjeet became the most important architect of coalition politics at the Centre.
Stepping into the rather large shoes of CPM’s greatest ideologue, EMS Namboodiripad, Surjeet more than others in the Left, has the ability to get along well with bourgeois politicians. Little wonder, he is hailed as the most pragmatic and flexible leader in the CPM, a party marked by the presence of dour conservatives.
Surjeet, despite requests, has been denied a superannuation by the CPM. The party web-site last week noted that “owing to his political activities he was jailed several times and had to spend 10 years in prison – eight years during British regime and two under the Congress rule after country became independent.” Most importantly though, he will be remembered as someone who played a decisive role in keeping the BJP at bay.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
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